Mumbai Police nab Hyderabad woman for luring girls with false promises of film roles

The accused pretended to be a production house representative. Representation pic

Kurar Police have arrested a woman from Hyderabad for allegedly running a prostitution racket that targeted young girls by promising roles in web series, especially in films linked to Ekta Kapoor. The accused pretended to be representatives of various film production houses to lure young women into compromising situations, filming these encounters on their mobile phones. They then used these videos to threaten the victims, saying they would make the footage public, and transported the women to different states, forcing them into prostitution.

The racket was uncovered when an 18-year-old girl from Malad East fell victim to the scheme and subsequently filed a complaint at the Kurar Police Station based on which the Kurar police arrested a woman pimp from Hyderabad last night and are looking for other absconding and involved accused in the crime. Sources revealed that the victim, a resident of Malad East in Kurar, was drawn into a trafficking scheme by a female friend of her mother, who occasionally visited their home.

Hoping to start an acting career, the victim accepted the offer, especially when she was told she might land a role in an upcoming Ekta Kapoor web series. In June, she accompanied her mother's friend to Titwala, where she met the friend's daughter, who said that representatives from the production house would meet her the next day.

‘Victim locked for 25 days'

The victim prepared and went to Titwala station with the friend's daughter, where they met a man named Sameer Ali, who introduced himself as a film production company employee. After a brief meeting, Sameer took the victim on his bike, supposedly heading to a film shoot in Karjat. Instead, he brought her to flat number 404 in the Eterna 2 building at Eco Green Complex.

Sameer reportedly delayed the shoot and locked the victim in a flat, telling her to freshen up and rest. Later that night, he returned with an older man, Aamir Ali Jethwa, and they all had dinner together. The victim claims she was given a sprite to drink, after which she lost consciousness.

The next morning, she awoke unclothed in bed with Aamir Ali lying naked beside her. She felt intense pain and saw blood on the bed. After cleaning up and dressing, she confronted Sameer in the living room, asking why he had allowed this to happen. In response, he showed her a video on his phone of her with Aamir and threatened to make the footage public if she spoke out. She claimed she was held in the flat for nearly 20 to 25 days. During this time, other girls came and went, each introduced as someone who would soon be working in films.

One day, the police raided the flat. Two officers arrived, took Sameer and Aamir Ali aside, and briefly questioned the victims. Out of fear that the video would be released, the victim didn't reveal anything. Instead, the officers reportedly said, "Don't you know what happens here?" and photographed Aadhaar cards of two girls stored on Sameer Ali's phone.

Victim was drugged

Back in Titwala, the victim confided in her mother's friend's daughter, who revealed that she too had been victimised and recorded. The woman admitted she felt powerless due to the video, and, being married with two children, hadn't dared to speak up. The victim later discovered that her mother's friend's daughter was also involved in the racket. Sameer took her to Goa claiming it was for a film shoot, where she experienced a similar ordeal to Karjat. He gave her beer laced with sedatives, and when she regained consciousness the next morning, she suspected that multiple men had assaulted her. Sameer even connected her by phone with a woman claiming to be Ekta Kapoor, who promised her a lead role in a web series and invited her to Jaipur for "shooting."

The victim told mid-day, "After all this, I felt that at least I was getting a chance to work in films, so I tried to forget the trauma as a ‘sacrifice' for my career." But as she travelled with the accused woman to places like Neral, Hyderabad, and other locations, she realised the group was operating a racket. Seizing a chance, the victim escaped to Mumbai and confided in her brother, who took her to an institution where manager Shyam Jhalke assisted her. Together, they reported the incident to the Kurar police, who then registered an FIR.

The "Bahujan Injustice Atrocity Eradication Action Committee" NGO, run by Shyam Jhalke, explained that after learning about the victim's experience, he conducted his own investigation and uncovered the racket's disturbing tactics. The group would lure unsuspecting girls with promises of film roles, drug them to induce unconsciousness, force physical relations, and record videos. They then used these videos to blackmail the victims, coercing them into prostitution under threats of releasing the footage.

In addition, the racket forced victimised girls to recruit other young women, who were then supplied to wealthy older men. They enticed the girls with promises of high-paying roles, offering monthly salaries from Rs 20,000 to Rs 80,000, but exploited them as ongoing income sources once they were ensnared. Among the absconding accused, Aamir Ali is reportedly a well-known figure in Karjat, with a hotel business and connections that helped support the racket. According to Jhalke, such individuals deserve no pardon and belong in jail to prevent further harm to innocent girls and women.